The best laptops of CES 2018

The best laptops of CES 2018

Photo: Maxime Johnson
Several laptops were unveiled this week at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), including some slim video game devices that are benefiting from Intel's new on-chip system with AMD graphics core. . Overview of the most interesting novelties of the show.

The winner of CES 2018: Dell XPS 13
Dell has been standing out for a few years with its XPS 13 computers, regularly ranked among the best by the trade press.

The latest model, the XPS 13 2018 (pictured in this article), enhances the range in a variety of ways, including a new cooling system and, most importantly, a new generation 4K IPS display with 400 nits of brightness. The screen, which will be available only on the more expensive models, is particularly impressive, to the point where I felt it was a fake the first time I saw it.

It should be twice as powerful as the XPS 13 only two years ago under certain conditions, according to Dell. The new thermal management of his computer would allow him to stand out especially from the competition when its processor is used for a long time.

Its new white finish touches the target, its packaging is designed in part with recycled plastic oceans, it is thin, 11.6 mm only, and lightweight, 1.2 kg. Interestingly, the current design should be kept for about 3 years, according to Dell. The next XPS 13 will have new components and maybe new colors, but the case will not change for a while.

With its multiple ports for a 2018 computer (microSD card, two thunderbolt 3 ports, a USB-C port) and a range of 11 to 20 hours depending on the configuration, the Dell XPS 13 should be the PC to consider this year.

The new Dell XPS 2018 is on sale now.

New Intel processor for video game laptops


The processor maker Intel took advantage of the CES to unveil the details of its new processors Intel Core G 8th generation, which include a graphics core developed not by Intel directly, but by his great rival AMD. An amazing partnership, but that promises to be really interesting.

So far, NVIDIA or AMD mobile graphics cards had to be installed on the motherboard of the computer by the manufacturers themselves, such as Asus, Dell, HP or Microsoft. A correct solution, but which limited the possible optimization and which occupied much more space than necessary. According to Intel's estimates, AMD Radeon's RX Vega M GL graphics core integration with its system-on-a-chip will save manufacturers up to 3 square inches of motherboard space. to be thinner.

Among other benefits, note that the component used to connect the RAM and graphics core (EMIB bridge for intimate) consumes less energy than a traditional solution, and a new optimization system, the Intel Dynamic Tuning , should make everything a lot more efficient.

By allocating power to the processor or graphics core as needed, Intel Dynamic Tuning provides better performance with a smaller thermal envelope. The components to cool the processor can be thinner and the power consumption is reduced, which allows to reduce the size of the battery while providing greater autonomy.

The comparison between a gaming computer equipped with a Core G processor with a system equivalent of three years ago is also striking. For a device with a 15.6-inch screen, the thickness should increase from 33 mm to 17 mm, the weight from 6 pounds to 4.7 pounds and the autonomy from 4.7 hours to 9, 3 hours, all with a performance improvement of 1.6X to 3X depending on usage (and even 6.7x for video processing).

In the examples provided to the press by Intel, a system with a Core G processor with Radeon RX graphics Vega M GL achieved including a refresh rate of 46 frames per second to Hitman (1080p, high settings), 36 frames per second Two Ex: Mankind Divided and 47 images per second at Vermintide. Unfortunately, performance will not be enough to run an Oculus Rift headset (but it will be for a Windows Mixed Reality headset).